Vznik Úřadu práce ČR: Příklad skupinového myšlení?
Th e Constitution of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic: a Case of Groupthink?

Summary/Abstract: The article deals with the process of creation of the Labour Office of the Czech Republic. In 2011, the law 73/2011 Coll. established the Labour Office as a central institution providing both unemployment benefits and social security protection. This change has been highly controversial. The decision-making process, approval and implementation is often cited as a stereotypical policy fiasco. The article analyses the process of the adoption of the Labour Office law through the lens of groupthink theory. Using the process tracing method we examine different symptoms of groupthink theory, and discuss to what extent the “diagnostic evidence” supports this theory. We find that this process can indeed be fruitfully understood in terms of groupthink theory, since we find that the group that prepared the law was relatively closed and that dissenting viewpoints were suppressed. Nevertheless, we conclude that groupthink theory cannot fully explain the decision-making process.

• Details
• Contents